Multi-use child products are highly desirable to parents of young children. There are great advantages to having a single device capable of performing multiple functions, including benefits derived from the versatility and adaptability of a single product to various uses; increased space saving capacity; and cost savings from not needing to buy multiple products. One such product well suited for multi-use capabilities is a child seating apparatus. Children are highly dependent on the parent during the infant stage when they cannot walk or are just beginning to learn to walk. One option available for the parent is to hold and carry the child everywhere, which can be tiring and tie up the parent's hands making it difficult for the parent to do anything else, including keeping track of another child. Another option is to put the child in a stroller, which can be bulky and difficult to maneuver in certain situations, such as in a restaurant. Either option is much more difficult to deal with when handling multiple children at once. Therefore, there is a particular need for a multi-use child seating apparatus that is adaptable to multiple uses, easy to use, portable, and doesn't tie up the parents hands or attention.
Certain prior art child seating apparatus are capable of multiple uses. For example, many child car seats can be used in a car and also removed for attachment to a stroller. However, many existing multi-use child seats are still limited in use, and there are many everyday uses for such a child seating apparatus for which no reasonable solution has heretofore existed. Accordingly, a desirable child seating apparatus should be adaptable for use in a variety of activities so as to improve the versatility of the apparatus through the course of a typical day, including uses both at home and out and about. For example, a seating apparatus is needed for activities such as trips to the grocery store and sitting at a picnic table, with the versatility to be used at home as a walker or with a child activity center. In particular, none of the prior art devices provide a suitable multi-use child seat that can be used when shopping, at the park or at a restaurant, especially when trying to keep track of multiple children.
Current devices adapted to carrying small children during shopping trips include shopping carts which are often provided in grocery stores and other stores where the purchase of a large number of goods is likely. Standard shopping carts typically include a main body, which comprises a basket portion for placing the goods to be purchased, a seat portion, and a handlebar for pushing the shopping cart. The seat portion typically includes a backrest and a seat. When the child is placed into the seat portion, the child's legs are inserted through leg holes provided in the main body of the shopping cart so that the seated child is facing the parent pushing the cart.
This method of carrying children is disadvantageous for several reasons. For example, most shopping carts are adapted to carry only one child. Parents with two or more children find it difficult to use existing shopping carts, unless two adults are present and can use two or more shopping carts. Although some retail outfits provide carts having more than one seat portion, these carts are typically limited in number and are often difficult to maneuver due to their excess length or width. Parents with two or more children often place an older child into the basket portion of the shopping cart; however, this is dangerous for the child and limits the space available for placing goods to be purchased. Moreover, existing seats built into the shopping cart are only useful for children having sufficient neck control. Young infants may not be placed into the shopping cart seats because they may tip in any direction, potentially causing injury to the neck.
Other devices commonly used for carrying small children during shopping trips include infant car seats. Infant car seats include a base portion, which is fixed in the automobile, and a carrier portion, which is removably fixed to the base portion during car trips. Parents commonly detach the carrier portion from the base portion of the infant car seat and rest the carrier portion on and between the handlebar and the backrest of the seat portion of the shopping cart. This method of carrying children during shopping trips is disadvantageous for several reasons. First, the carrier portion of an infant car seat does not include means for securely attaching the infant car seat to a shopping cart. As a result, placement of the carrier portion atop of a shopping cart is dangerous because it is not possible to achieve a secure fit and the seat can shift while the shopping cart is moved. Thus, the possibility of injury to the child is high. Moreover, placement of the infant seat's carrier portion atop of a shopping cart fully obstructs the seat portion of the shopping cart. Accordingly, the existing seat portion of the shopping cart is rendered useless and thus does not resolve the issues presented to a parent with more than one child.
Parents having an infant and at least one other child commonly place the infant seat's carrier portion inside the basket portion of the shopping cart. The older child may then be placed in the seat portion of the shopping cart. This method of carrying children is also disadvantageous for several reasons. For example, the parent's view of the infant is obstructed by the older child, which may present safety hazards. Additionally, the amount of space available in the basket portion of the shopping cart is significantly restricted or rendered useless, depending on the size of the shopping cart.
Existing seating methods for shopping carts are generally fairly limited for other uses, and most are specifically designed for shopping cart usage. A car seat can be used in the car, as intended, and removed for use in a stroller and perhaps perched on top of a shopping cart, but there is little additional versatility beyond those uses. Other devices may exist for attachment to a table, but typically such devices cannot be likewise used with a shopping cart without any of the drawbacks discussed above. Most such seating devices do not have suitable versatility to be used both at home and out and about.
Therefore, there exists a need in the industry for a child seating apparatus adaptable to multiple applications, including for shopping carts, picnic tables, and walkers, that is inexpensive, lightweight, portable and easy to use, whereby parents may bring more than one small child on a shopping trip, whereby the child seat may be securely fixed to the shopping cart, whereby the child seat does not obscure the parent's view of any child, whereby the child seat does not compromise the space available to place goods in the basket portion of a shopping cart, whereby a parent may watch multiple children at the park or in a restaurant, whereby a parent may use the apparatus at home, and whereby the parent may use the apparatus for other activities.